Application Engineer

Application Engineer

Purpose of Job

The Application Engineer is the initial technical resource for the Internal & External Sales teams and is responsible for actively driving and managing the “Application evaluation” stage of the sales process.

The role operates as a bridge between Customers and Technical/Engineering teams, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of Fluid Power products.

The main focus of the role is the preparation of accurate product/project estimates whilst communicating requirements with customers and internal departments. The Application Engineer must be able to identify and provide reliable solutions for all Application issues to assure complete customer satisfaction through all stages of the sales process.

Place in the organisation

Direct Superior: Senior Regional Sales Manager

Subordinate(s): None

Description of duties

Key Accountabilities and Objectives

• Support sales activities by handling all correspondence with regional customers, distributors, production and suppliers, such as preparing quotations for customer enquiries, order processing, shipping arrangements, invoicing, and liaising with customers in Asia within a timely manner.
• Propose technical and commercial solutions from customer specifications by having in-depth product knowledge.
• Maintain expert level of product knowledge and applications.
• Articulate product positioning to both Sales teams and external Customers, including Competitor substitutions.
• Produce quotations for customers in a clear, detailed, and accurate manner.
• Provide assistance to colleagues, distributors & customers on technical and engineering issues.
• Negotiate and achieve deadlines for the submission of quotations.
• Build relationships with customers and potential customers to understand their requirements.
• Plan job timescales.
• Prepare sales & marketing reports.
• Help with bids for new contracts and support buying activities.
• Interpret customer performance requirements, gather proposals, specifications and related documents, and liaise with stakeholders to convert specifications to cost estimates for new and current products.
• Maintain accurate records of target accounts, opportunities, quotes, projects, contacts, and correspondence in company databases.
• Communicate with customers to gain feedback on quotations.
• Establish cost estimates of production processes and tooling costs and review alternatives or put forward recommendations for improvement.
• Monitor the stages of a project to ensure that costs are kept in line with forecasts.
• Investigate and identify cost reduction opportunities through cost analysis review.
• When relevant, generate new part numbers for standard parts.
• Achieve relevant targets and KPIs.
• Pursue new business opportunities in line with Strategic objectives in conjunction with the External Sales Team at existing and prospective customers.
• Adopt a flexible approach to workload and assume new responsibilities where appropriate.

Communication

• Communicate clearly and confidently with customers, suppliers, distributors & production.
• Liaise with stakeholders and support management decisions by providing appropriate cost information and data.
• Liaise with the purchasing department to provide continued feedback to ensure competitive pricing.
• Engage interest and participation of others and have a collaborative approach to working with others.
• Ensure that effective and regular communication takes place between peers and individuals.
• Promote and endorse the company culture and identity.

General Responsibilities

• Comply with all health & safety requirements.
• Comply with all other company policies & procedures.
• Take responsibility for personal development, identify training needs, and request appropriate training as required.
• Deliver a seamless interface with internal and external customers as required.
• Protect the customer from receiving defective products.
• Conduct any other reasonable request associated with this job function or the smooth running of the department.

Note: This job description is a general guide to the above role and is not indicative of all the activities and functions of the job holder, which may vary from time to time according to the needs of the business and as instructed by the company.